Data protection
01/08/2023 12:30 PM
Trees on the southernmost tip of New Zealand’s South Island grow crooked due to strong winds blowing from Antarctica / Photo: YouTube / Amaze Lab
The trees growing on the southernmost tip of New Zealand’s South Island are a surreal sight due to the strong winds blowing in from Antarctica.
The Cliffs region is located in the southern part of the archipelago, and is exposed to strong winds throughout the day, due to the fact that this point is located about 4,800 km from the South Pole and 5,140 km below the equator. At the tipping point, the Antarctic wind travels 3,200 km without interruption, causing an unavoidable continuous wind current.
The result is that the trees have taken on a completely distorted shape: they grow sideways, making them look like wind-blown hair. Otherwise, the vegetation is not at all different from that found in other parts of the island.
Slope Point is a popular attraction for tourists, as it is an ideal spot for photo ops, and is also very attractive to the sheep that live in the area, as they seek shelter from the winds there.
You can find crooked trees elsewhere in the world: in Poland’s crooked forest, there are trees that are bent at an angle of 90 degrees at their base. However, according to experts, the trees there were shaped as such by humans, probably in the 30s.
